Twilight Reimagined

Chapter 3

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Chapter 3:

When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.

It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window, and the pressure felt low like it does in Phoenix before one of the few storms rolls through per year.

I jumped up to look outside but grained as soon as I saw.

A fine layer of snow dusted the top of my truck and the grass, the blades could just be visible under the white powder. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid, coating the needles on the trees in geometric patterns. The driveway looked deadly slick, I was sure the road would not be much better.

Charlie had left for work before I made it downstairs. Besides dinner, I basically had the place to myself, I was revealing in the aloneness instead of being lonely.

I quickly ate a piece of banana bread that I had made over the weekend. I wouldn't say I was excited to go to school, but the pit of dread had mostly subsided. Partially because Edward Cullen had a change of mind about me, instead of being disgusted by me, I guess I was "tolerable" to him. Thought I doubted we would end up like Darcy and Elizabeth.

I should have been avoiding him entirely, not only because of his behavior the week prior but because I had essentially told him my life story. I was still suspicious in a curious way, his ice-cold hands which he gave no explanation for, his color-changing eyes. I was still scared of the tension he held when we sat next to each other, but his stupid perfectly beautiful face clouded my judgment.

It took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway without breaking something. I caught my fall on the truck, I would definitely have bruises on my forearm.

I tried not to think about Edward, so I thought about Mike. He seemed to have a crush on me, I hoped it was just the excitement of being new and it would dissipate in a couple of weeks once I made it clear I was not interested. In Phoenix, I had a couple of short, awkward relationships that were never worth lying to my mother about. Sneaking around became too much of a hassle for the "reward" of awkward brace-face kissing and holding each other's sweaty hands.

My truck seemed to have no problem aside from a few skids. I drove very slowly, there was a long line of cars trailing behind me.

When I got out of my truck at school, I saw why I had so little trouble. My Dad had put some chains on my wheels, they were crisscrossed in diamond shapes. It felt nice to have his unspoken concern.

I was standing by the back corner of the truck examining the tires, wondering how they helped with ice patches on the road when I heard an odd sound. It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled. My heart had begun to leap even before I saw what was happening.

I saw several things simultaneously. I somehow had a lot of time to think in what I knew was only a couple of seconds at most. Things aren't exactly in slow motion, but rather my brain sped up from the adrenaline and was able to process the information much faster.

Edward was standing four cars down from me, staring at me with a new face I had never seen before. Deep concern, horror even. His face stood out in a sea of faces, all of which were frozen in the mask of shock. But of more importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of my truck and I was standing between them. I didn't even have time to close my eyes.